JP2004046096A - Optical power splitter - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an optical power splitter capable of minimizing a chip size at a low cost.
An optical power splitter according to the present invention includes one input optical waveguide and N output optical waveguides, and divides an optical signal incident from the input optical waveguide into N optical signals. This optical power splitter includes at least two or more optical splitters provided with a structure of a planar lightwave circuit element on one chip and arranged at predetermined intervals, and an input optical waveguide and an output optical waveguide of the multiple optical splitters. And an alignment waveguide for alignment.
[Selection] Fig. 2

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical communication device, and more particularly, to an optical power splitter of a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) type.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An optical power splitter is an element that splits input light into a desired path, and is widely applied to an optical communication system, an optical subscriber network, and the like. The optical power splitter has 1 × 2, 1 × 4, 1 × 8,. . . , 1 × N (where N is a natural number) type.
[0003]
As a typical method of manufacturing an optical power splitter, there are a method of fusing optical fibers by a melt-pull method and a method of a plane lightwave circuit (PLC) type. In general, a system having a small number of channels such as 1 × 2 and 1 × 4 uses a melt-pull method, and a system having eight or more channels uses a PLC method.
[0004]
Although the PLC method has better optical characteristics than the melt-tension method, it is not widely used due to the limitation of the number of channels and high cost. This is because the manufacturing cost does not decrease even if the number of channels decreases. That is, the manufacturing cost of an optical power splitter including four 1 × 2 PLC optical splitters is two to three times the manufacturing cost of an optical power splitter including one 1 × 8 PLC optical splitter, and the manufacturing cost per channel Is 2-3 times higher.
[0005]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic structure of a conventional optical power splitter including four (1 × 2) optical splitters. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional optical power splitter has a dicing line (DL) for cutting the splitter into individual elements. As a result, the conventional optical power splitter requires a space in which four separation modules are provided, so that the chip size is restricted. Furthermore, the conventional optical power splitter requires time for assembling the separated optical splitters at the time of housing, which is not practical in terms of efficient working time and material cost.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) type optical power splitter that can significantly reduce the manufacturing cost and minimize the chip size.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention for achieving the above object provides an optical power splitter that includes one input optical waveguide and N output optical waveguides and divides an optical signal input from the input optical waveguide into N optical signals. At least two or more optical splitters provided with a structure of a planar lightwave circuit element on one chip and spaced at predetermined intervals, and an alignment waveguide for aligning an input optical waveguide and an output optical waveguide of a large number of optical splitters; , Is provided.
[0008]
Preferably, the distance between the respective optical waveguides of the optical splitter which is spaced apart is at least 127 μm.
[0009]
More preferably, the distance between the input optical waveguides of the separated optical splitter is 250 μm, and the distance between the output optical waveguides is even more preferably 127 μm.
[0010]
N is preferably a natural number of 2 or more.
[0011]
More preferably, the optical splitter is a 1 × 2 type optical splitter.
[0012]
Preferably, the optical power splitter according to the present invention further includes an input optical fiber array coupled to one end of the optical power splitter and an output optical fiber array coupled to the other end of the optical power splitter.
[0013]
The alignment waveguide has first and fourth ends on one side and second and third ends on the other side for aligning the optical power splitter with the input optical fiber array and the output optical fiber array. Good. In this case, when light is incident on the first end, it is preferable that the incident light be divided and propagated to the second end and the third end. It is even more preferable that the light is propagated by being divided into the ends.
[0014]
Preferably, the interval between the optical splitters at the input end of the optical power splitter is the same as the interval between the optical splitters at the output end of the optical power splitter.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions and configurations are not described in detail so as to clarify only the gist of the present invention.
[0016]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a basic structure of an optical power detector including four 1 × 2 type optical splitters according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, the PLC type optical power splitter includes an input optical fiber array 10, a PLC chip 100, and an output optical fiber array 20. The interval between the optical fibers a and b of the input optical fiber array 10 is 250 μm, and the interval between the optical fibers c and d of the output optical fiber array 20 is 127 μm. These intervals are of the standard type, but can be varied according to the requirements of the user.
[0018]
In order to reduce the size of the element, it is preferable to reduce the interval between the optical fibers, but it is difficult to manufacture the optical fiber while maintaining the interval of 127 μm or less. Therefore, considering the diameter of the optical fiber and the size of the element, an interval of 127 μm is currently preferred.
[0019]
The PLC chip 100 has a structure in which four Y junction 1 × 2 splitters are integrated on one chip. The distance di between the optical fibers at the input end (INPUT TERMINALS) 110 of the chip and the distance do between the optical fibers at the output end (OUTPUT TERMINALS) 120 are the distances between the optical fibers in the input optical fiber array 10 and the output optical fiber array 20, respectively. (Between a and b, between c and d). In this case, the optical fibers arranged at the same interval at the input end 110 of the chip have an appropriate interval in consideration of the interval with the output end 120 before reaching the Y-junction 130 branched to the output end. Bend like so.
[0020]
Referring to FIG. 3, the alignment waveguide 50 includes (1) to (4) provided for aligning the input optical fiber array 10 and the output optical fiber array 20. According to this alignment method, when light is incident on (1), the light is divided and propagated into (2) and (3), and the output ends are aligned using this. After the output terminals are aligned, when light is incident on (2), it is divided into (4) and (1) and propagated, and this is used to align the input terminals.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the following effects are obtained by integrating several 1 × 2 type optical splitters on one chip. For convenience of explanation, the description will be made in comparison with a conventional optical splitter.
[0022]
First, in the prior art, the optical power splitter has four 1 × 2 type optical splitters, and each splitter must include a dicing line, which increases the size. On the other hand, according to the present invention, since the four 1 × 2 type optical splitters are integrated on one chip without requiring a dicing line, the size of the splitter can be extremely reduced.
[0023]
Second, the prior art requires alignment and bonding operations four times each, and also requires time to assemble four optical splitters. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the alignment and bonding operations are performed once each, and the device is manufactured as one device, so that the operation time can be reduced.
[0024]
Third, in the prior art, the optical splitter requires four cases to accommodate a four-core, four-core optical fiber array and to separately house the optical splitters. However, according to the present invention, only one optical fiber array having one case, four cores and one eight core is required, so that the material cost can be reduced to about １ ／.
[0025]
In the detailed description of the present invention, a specific embodiment has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Obviously, this is possible with the knowledgeable. For example, the present invention not only has a structure in which four 1 × 2 type splitters are integrated, but also a 1 × N type (N is a positive number of 2 or more) or an M × N type (M is a positive number of 1 or more, The present invention is also applicable to a structure in which only P (N is a positive number of 2 or more) are integrated (P is a positive number of 2 or more). Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and should be determined not only by the claims but also by the equivalents of the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic structure of an optical power splitter including four 1 × 2 PLC type optical splitters according to the related art.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a basic structure of an optical power splitter including four 1 × 2 type optical splitters according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a structure of a PLC chip portion of four 1 × 2 type optical splitters according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Input optical fiber array 50 Aligned waveguide 100 PLC chip 110 Input end 120 Output end 130 Y junction

Claims (10)

An optical power splitter comprising one input optical waveguide and N output optical waveguides and dividing an optical signal incident from the input optical waveguide into N optical signals,
At least two or more optical splitters provided with a structure of a planar lightwave circuit element on one chip and spaced at predetermined intervals;
An optical power splitter, comprising: an alignment waveguide for aligning an input optical waveguide and an output optical waveguide of the plurality of optical splitters. 2. The optical power splitter according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the respective optical waveguides of the separated optical splitter is at least 127 [mu] m. 2. The optical power splitter according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the input optical waveguides of the separated optical splitter is 250 [mu] m, and the distance between the output optical waveguides is 127 [mu] m. The optical power splitter according to claim 1, wherein said N is a natural number of 2 or more. The optical power splitter according to claim 1, wherein the optical splitter is a 1 × 2 type optical splitter. The optical power splitter of claim 1, further comprising an input optical fiber array coupled to one end of the optical power splitter and an output optical fiber array coupled to the other end of the optical power splitter. The alignment waveguide has a first end and a fourth end on one side and a second end and a third end on the other side for aligning the optical power splitter with the input optical fiber array and the output optical fiber array. 7. The optical power splitter according to claim 6, comprising an end. The optical power splitter according to claim 7, wherein when light is incident on the first end, the incident light is split and propagated to the second end and the third end. The optical power splitter according to claim 7, wherein when light is incident on the second end, the incident light is split and propagated to the first end and the fourth end. The optical power splitter according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the optical splitters at an input end of the optical power splitter is the same as an interval between the optical splitters at an output end of the optical power splitter.

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